Lessons From Badger Mountain

“It's not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves."

-- Sir Edmund Hillary

Badger Mountain is not Mount Everest,  but I get some of my best ideas and hardest workouts hiking there.  When the gym closed during the COVID quarantine, I worked out at home for awhile. But Walmart resistence bands and 10 pound weights just didn't cut it. To keep my sanity, I found Badger Mountain...a life-saver for me. 

It's not a long hike. What I call "the hard side" is one mile from the bottom to the top and the elevation at the top is only 1593 feet. But it's tough and usually windy...like some "hikes" in life.

Just like Badger, every new life "hike" is difficult, especially if we don't know how far it is to the top or what the top even looks like.

The first 6 minutes of Badger are killer steep. (When I hike this with my friend, Deanna, I let her talk so I can focus on getting oxygen.) We do get to catch our breath before we hit the next switchback. Then there's a rocky part where we have to watch every step, so we don't turn an ankle. If that isn't bad enough, at that point the wind can feel like it's going to blow us off the mountain. Soon, it flattens out for a bit, and the path gets smooth again. Over the next small incline we see the next two vertical (they seem like it) switchbacks that get us to the top. 

It's like life at times... steep, rocky, the wind in our face. Some of the time, we don't have a clue where the path is taking us. We may as well not open our mouths to complain because the wind blows grit into our teeth.  We often wonder like a little kid on a long trip, "Are we there yet?"

While pondering this "life is like a series of hikes" thought, I saw some birds. It seemed like they were laughing at the steepness and the rocks on the path. They were using the wind to soar.  They weren't fighting the trip, they were effortlessly climbing, focused on the big picture and enjoying the journey.

Yes, the climb can be difficult at times, but not if we keep the big picture in mind. The big picture can be our destination, the delight of the journey, the beautiful wild flowers in spring and/or the knowledge that we are going to make it to the top. We will achieve the goal of the life we designed for ourselves...if we just keep moving forward.

Every life hike makes us stronger and empowers us to attempt more hikes, because we have experienced success. We've made it to the top before and the view at the top is spectacular!  AND there's always an easy downhill cruise after the climb. The wind will be at our backs, too. We learn, like the birds, not to resist, but to enjoy the journey, because we can do this! We can achieve our vision. 

That picture is the view as you begin the downhill cruise. It's so worth the hike. 

Hiking,

Jan

Jan McDonald
The John Maxwell Team

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